Inclusion and exclusion is something I am worried about as a future teacher. Of course I want all of the students in my class to feel like they belong, but I do not know how to incorporate that sense of belonging. This is why Tracy Humphrey’s talk was so useful to me. It was nice to have her come in and speak to the class since she had first-hand experience as a mother in a situation where her son’s needs were not being met. It was also interesting since she is the founder of BCEDACCESS, which will be a helpful resource for when I am a teacher.

What was really beneficial was the process behind helping students and their parents advocate for themselves within a school district. As Tracy mentioned, the start of a complaint with the school is with the teacher, so it is important for us to follow the right steps and go the extra mile to have inclusive classrooms.

Some ways I can help parents and students with their advocacy:

  • Writing down examples. By putting information down in writing, there is proof that a student’s needs are not being met. This will help them advocate since you can bring in real-life examples of when a situation occured.
  • Follow-up. If a parent has concerns, don’t wait for the school to follow-up with the parent to ensure everything is going well. Have a conversation with the parents to make sure their child has everything they need and that their needs are being met.
  • Collaborate with families. If the teacher has a relationship with a family, it becomes easier to talk to parents about what their children need and makes the teacher more approachable. Sometimes, the parents might not even know anything is wrong. This would be a much easier conversation to have if there was a relationship formed.

What really surprised me during this lecture was the statistic that 133 million girls are not attending school right now, this includes disabled girls in BC. When I think of girls not being able to attend school, I think of third-world countries where families may need the extra support from their daughters at home. I never thought that this would include girls within my own province. By creating a conversation on inclusive education, we are potentially opening the door for many more girls to go to school in the future, with classrooms ready to support them.